head to head · open source
manim vs Easy3D
manim has 94,045 GitHub stars, 7,724 forks, 500 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. Easy3D has 1,656 stars, 277 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 23 days ago. manim leads on adoption by 5,579% (94,045 vs 1,656 stars). manim is written in Python under MIT; Easy3D is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. manim has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Easy3D 17%. manim was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| manim | Easy3D | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 94K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.7K | ⑂ 277 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick manim if
- You weight community size — 94K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Easy3D if
- You want the Easy3D feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and Easy3D fits your workflow better
About manim
Manim is a Python animation engine for precise, programmatic rendering of explanatory mathematics videos, built for educators, mathematicians, and developers who want frame accurate control over every element of a mathematical animation instead of editing on a timeline.
read the full manim overview →
About Easy3D
Easy3D is a lightweight C++ library with Python bindings for processing and rendering 3D data, built for researchers, educators, and developers who need point clouds, polygonal meshes, polyhedral volumes, and graphs handled efficiently without writing low level OpenGL code.
read the full Easy3D overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is manim or Easy3D more popular?
manim has 94,045 GitHub stars and Easy3D has 1,656. manim has the larger community by that measure.
Are manim and Easy3D free?
Both are open source. manim is licensed under MIT and Easy3D under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between manim and Easy3D?
manim is written in Python and Easy3D in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, manim or Easy3D?
Choose manim if you want the larger community (94,045 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Easy3D if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.